Thought it might be handy to show what might be involced with bringing an SS1 back from an extended slumber (10 years in this case)..

As was recently documented in Slice, I've acquired SS1 Chassis No.1
Sounds great, but it had sat in a garage for the last 10 years and upon purchase, the engine was siezed...not looking good!

A mixture of Automatic Transmission fluid and diesel was poured into the bores, and weeks of gentle trying ensued until finally the engine turned - showering me in the mixture as i was standing in front of No.1 spark plug hole (no.1 was at the bottom of its stroke, so that's 400cc of mixture..).

Quick replacement of spark plugs, and it actually fired on 10 year old petrol! Bit lumpy, bit smokey, but it ran and only a bit of tappet noise...

OK..the cambelt is 10 years old and the original by the looks of it, so thats now been changed along with the water pump (tensioner is fine - but it does only have 26,000 miles on it).

Little differences i've noticed between this and the rest of the SS1s out there - for starters it's in a Porsche Pearl
All the wiring is in black, with barely legible number markers on each wire..
Plus the front wings are fibreglass, not the usual rubber! Only spotted it due to the matted finish on the inside..
And for some strange reason, the top wishbone bushes have been welded into the arms...

Have now found out that the radiator is blocked virtually solid, so that another job - just after i'd refilled it with fresh antifreeze! When the fan runs, and you can put your hand on any of the lower 3/4 of the core, it doesn't sound good..

It will be at Curborough for anyone to have a look over...

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Some points to note about the engine sitting in one position for 10 years..

The cambelt was most definately past its best, but the rubber material had actually pulled off the belt (probably on the frst turn) and imbedded itself into the teeth of the crank pulley and water pump (but for some reason not the cam pulley). Took a little digging out of the old material, otherwise the belt stands a chance of slipping...

...which is what I think it had done. Luckily with a 1300, you don't get valve/piston contact. It was only whilst doing the cambelt i had aligned the top pulley with its marker to find that the bottom pulley was out. Aligned the crank pulley and the cam pulley was exactly one tooth out. This is something you would probably not get away with if it was a 1600!

If its one tooth out, it is a bugger to start (tries to fire backwards so feels like a flat battery) and runs like a bag of nails if its advanced a tooth. Retarded a tooth, and it will be flat as anything..if it will start at all!

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Radiator come good after a wonderful mixture of Asda Smart Price Cola (2 litres), flush then boiling water with 4 sterident tablets.. Finally tested with boiling water down the top pipe - the water was cool enough to dip a finger in by the time if reached the other side just from the airflow through the rad sat on the bench. Nice even temperature gradient as well on the core.

Quick once over and it passed its first MoT in 11 years...most happy! Quick sorting of insurance and tax disc and we drove it to Curborough!

Brakes are fine (despite an advisory on the MoT for surface rust!), but a new set of tyres are definately on the cards to replace the 24 year old originals, complete with their D-shaped profile...steering wobble? Not 'arf!

Next planned outing is the Town and Country Festival this weekend at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire....

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Some kind hit and run driver decided to use it as an additional braking device...
Tyres now replaced as the originals started to delaminate on the way to Stoneleigh. The trip also highlighted an issue with the fuel tank not being totally full of petrol, but also rusty water. This has, over the last couple hundred miles progressed to completely block 2 fuel filters and (I think) the pre filter on the pick up pipe as well. Last nights drive home had to be done in 5 miles "hops" - at each stop, pulling up the bonnet and watching the dry fuel filter gradually fill back up with the engine off - the power of vaccuum!

Now on the search for a replacement fuel tank...

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Fuel tank drained, removed and washed out today - managed to salvage about 10 litres of petrol, but somewhere near 10 litres of rusty water is now removed. From a quick inspection, the tank should survive. Have managed to find a fuel filler cap which doesn't have any hole in the top (looks like a Vauxhall one) from the depths of my garage, so that should stop any more water getting in. Don't really want to deface the bodywork with a Mocal one (like B23KAB has)...

Looks a little odd, but shouldn't get any more water in there!

The fuel pickup pre-filter was totally clogged as well...

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

philhoward wrote:
Brakes are fine (despite an advisory on the MoT for surface rust!)

Spoke too soon...

As is usually the way with cars that have sat for a long time, things tend to start playing up in the first few miles of running. A strange sticking/whining noise from the NSR wheel after coming to a stop necessitated some investigation today, to find the whole of the rear brake assembly completely soaked in brake fluid. New shoes and a wheel cylinder later, everything seems fine again on the drive. Not taken it out on the road yet - the tank is still empty from last weekend's draining session!

Poised to replace the other side in due course..

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Due course for the other rear brake was the next time I took it out - plus the tank has decided to spring a leak (might have been caused by the non-vented cap i fitted )..reminder to self - fit a breather!

Thanks to my "new" galv chassis for the Rooster and a kind donation from stewb, I will now have a spare tank for "No.1", plus one for KAB

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

A little update given i thought it best to make sure the car is running during the 25th Anniversary!

Whilst I was away playing with the Rooster rebuild, No.1 was just left sitting on the drive. After its last episode with the fuel tank, i'd filled it back up - at which point is promptly emptied itself all over the drive. 8 gallons of BPs finest...

This turned out to be a hole about 1/4" (6mm) in diameter, right at the bottom where a spot weld once lived. It almost looked like i'd drilled it...perhaps the internal pressure of having a sealed cap was too much for it! In went the tank from the Rooster - obviously a replacement as it had a Securicor label on it, along with Will Sparrows address. This meant it was the later one with the long breather. Using some spare hose, i made up a new one but have incorporated a small breather to atmosphere, tucked up under the rear deck.

Finally replaced the rear cylinder and shoes - not as bad as the other side, but the cylinder seals had failed.

Got it started and then proceeded to take it down to get some petrol (I only had half a can at home) to be greeted by a very strange feeling. Wouldn't go into gear, but when it did, the clutch did nothing - yes, the plate had stuck to the flywheel
Having never had this happen, but read 101 solutions to it, i made sure the engine was warm, so would start on the first compression, started it in 1st gear and went wailing down the road with my foot on the clutch - a most bizarre feeling! About 400 yards later with some "clutchless" gearchanges, the reassuring (!) bang and the clutch finally gave up its unintentional grip. Normal service has resumed - except i've now remembered one thing i forgot to do - replace the thermostat. Don't have one in stock, so thats that for today..

Given the health of the daily driver fleet at the moment (the Omega engine is rattling like a good 'un and the Saab is about out of MoT), it may get some mileage this week to work and back..

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Well, the nosecone is back on, but such is the nature of mica pearl paints (apparently), it looks a little different in daylight (it was a perfect match under Flourescent light). It'll have to stay "as is" for Curborough, but will be fixed for the NEC...I've been told to bring it back if I wasn't 100% happy.

Phil Howard
Scimitarweb Forum Admin
SS1 1600 Rooster Turbo; Sabre Mk1.5, Sabre Mk2
Previous: SE5/5a/SS1 No.1/SS1 Rooster/SS1 1800Ti/SE5a 24 Valvehttp://www.ss1turbo.comNever try and argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you based on experience.

Now in the careful hands of Andy, after a long time in slumber (with a couple of moves over the years), number one was towed to Curbs for the 30th anniversary of the SS1 this year.j

A quick jump start and she drove to the paddock and back on Friday and was parked at the head of the SS1 parking area over Saturday & Sunday.

Now I need to assess the corrosion and decide on the level of repair to get a new MOT. We know the sills have holes - and that normally means there's more hiding. Unfortunately I can't employ my normal modus operandi of "swap it onto a galv chassis" on this car

Hopefully Rich of Classic Details can work his magic on the panels - not sure about the mismatch on the nose cone and rear light panel though - it may have to remain as part of the car's history!

Last edited by scimjim on Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.